All about GPS – Part II Nuts Volts Magazine
Author – D.Prabakaran
https://online.flippingbook.com/view/1004921754/

It took just one night — February 16, 2026, 22:47 UTC — for a small group of Italian radio amateurs to change the digital HF landscape forever. FT2, developed by Martino Merola IU8LMC of ARI Caserta, compresses a full ham radio QSO to as little as seven seconds, running four times faster than FT8 and twice as fast as FT4. Within two weeks, it had been spotted on PSKReporter from dozens of countries, spawned two incompatible software implementations, and ignited a fierce debate about open-source ethics, automation, and the soul of amateur radio digital operating. This is the complete story of FT2 — the mode, the schism, and what comes next.
Software Defined Radio technology has revolutionized base station infrastructure, laboratory-grade receivers, and bench equipment for years, yet handheld transceivers have stubbornly clung to traditional fixed-function architectures. The LinHT SDR shatters this paradigm entirely, delivering a genuine software-defined transceiver in a genuinely portable package.
FT2 promises ultra‑fast QSOs with 3.8‑second cycles and up to 240 contacts per hour, but early adopters are divided. This in‑depth report analyzes FT2’s technical trade‑offs, including its weaker –12 dB sensitivity, very tight ±50 ms clock requirement, Windows‑only Decodium client, and limited award support. It also compiles global feedback from Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, blogs, and WhatsApp groups—ranging from contesters who love the speed to operators who see FT2 as risky, unnecessary, or too fragile for weak‑signal DX.
